FIFA will investigate Israel for alleged discrimination over Palestinian complaints, days after Iran’s attacks

FIFA, the world football governing body, plans to launch an investigation against the Israel Football Association (IFA) following allegations made by the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), it announced on Thursday.

FIFA’s disciplinary committee will be asked to investigate allegations of discrimination as the PFA has accused the IFA of complicity in violations of international law by the Israeli government, discrimination against Arab players and inclusion in the competition of clubs on Palestinian territory .

“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will be mandated to investigate the alleged crime of discrimination raised by the Palestinian Football Association,” FIFA said in a statement. “FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee will be tasked with investigating the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine.”

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Palestinian flags are seen during the Men’s Group D match between Mali and Israel at the Paris Olympics on July 24, 2024. (Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Fox News has contacted the PFA and IFA for comment.

The PFA previously proposed a suspension for Israel due to the war in Gaza. The PFA proposal to the 211 member federations called for “appropriate sanctions, with immediate effect, against Israeli teams,” according to FIFA documents released this year.

The proposal cited “violations of international law committed by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, in particular in Gaza” and cited FIFA’s legal obligations in the areas of human rights and against discrimination.

“The entire football infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed or seriously damaged, including the historic stadium of Al-Yarmuk,” the PFA wrote, adding that it received support for the motion from the federations of Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Syria. Yemen.

The PFA’s proposal was enough to convince FIFA to seek an independent legal council and hold a historic council meeting to make a decision on whether Israel should be excluded from international football due to the conflict with Hamas, said FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the FIFA Congress in May. .

“FIFA will now require independent legal expertise to (analyze) the three requests (from the Palestinian FA) and ensure that FIFA’s statutes are properly applied,” Infantino said. “Due to the urgency of the situation, an extraordinary FIFA Council will be convened before July 20 to assess the results of the legal review and take the appropriate decisions.”

FIFA said on Thursday that it will not suspend Israel, but that an investigation into alleged discrimination will continue.

The most recent and prominent example of a country where its athletes were excluded from major international sporting competitions was Russia during the Paris Olympics this summer.

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Hundreds of Harvard graduates left Commencement 2024 to draw attention to the plight of Palestinians. (Craig F. Walker/Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Russia was banned for invading Ukraine just four days after the end of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee considered this attack a violation of the Olympic truce, a resolution calling on all countries to lay down their arms and not engage in conflict, starting one week before the start of the Olympic Games and ending one week after the end. The Russian Olympic Committee lost its appeal against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee in February.

Belarus, which was used as a stage for the invasion, was also not allowed to compete in Paris.

However, a total of 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed as neutral participants in Paris; 17 previously represented Belarus and 15 represented Russia. They were not allowed to show off their country’s flag, but could attend the closing ceremony.

Countries have also been excluded from participating in the World Cup in the past, but that country’s players were never allowed to compete as neutral players.

Germany and Japan were excluded from the 1950 World Cup after the end of World War II. South Africa was banned from 1966 to 1992 for violating FIFA’s anti-discrimination charter due to apartheid. Mexico was even banned for two years after using too many players in qualifying tournaments for the 1989 World Youth Championship.

FIFA’s announcement comes the same week that Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israeli cities.

Iranian attacks on Israel on Tuesday forced nearly 10 million people to seek safety in bomb shelters.

The barrage of aerial warfare marked the first time in Israeli history that the country’s densely populated cities – Tel Aviv and Jerusalem – at the center of the Biblical nation – faced such potentially devastating attacks. Most of the rockets have been intercepted, according to the Associated Press.

Iran also warned that a retaliatory strike could warrant a further ballistic response.

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On October 1, 2024, missiles fired from Iran are seen over Jerusalem from Hebron, West Bank. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said this week at the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit that Israel should not believe it can act “with impunity,” according to Reuters.

“Any form of military attack, terrorist act or crossing of our red lines will be met with a decisive response by our armed forces,” Pezeshkian said.

This Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists. The conflict between Israel and neighboring countries in the region has since led to widespread tensions in the US over concerns of a humanitarian crisis.

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